The key question in shareholder oppression claims is often whether the complaining shareholder’s expectations were reasonable under the circumstances.  A recent decision from Albany County and a recently published article highlight two sides of a debate about how “contractual” the reasonable expectations inquiry should be. 
Continue Reading Can a Shareholder Be Oppressed After Ceding Control? Oppression, Reasonable Expectations, and Contractual Formalism

The shareholder oppression claim under BCL 1104-a has a unique relationship with claims for money damages.

A minority shareholder petitioning for dissolution under BCL 1104-a must establish that the majority shareholders have engaged in “illegal, fraudulent or oppressive actions,” or that the “property or assets of the corporation are being looted, wasted, or diverted for non-corporate purposes by its directors, officers or those in control of the corporation.”

Based on that standard, it’s easy to imagine conduct by the majority that both meets the criteria for dissolution and constitutes a separate tort compensable with money damages (for instance, a claim for the majority’s breach of fiduciary duty).  For that reason, it’s very common to see a dissolution petition coupled with money damages claims, all arising out of the same conduct. 

But where the money damages claims are filed before the dissolution petition, a plaintiff might be forced to litigate those to completion prior to pursuing their dissolution petition.  That’s the tough lesson learned by the petitioner of a dissolution proceeding brought under BCL 1104-a, in Ramirez v Issa, 2024 N.Y. Slip Op. 33488[U] [NY County 2024], the subject of this week’s post.Continue Reading Corporate Dissolution Petition Hits Back Burner in Favor of Earlier Filed Claims for Money Damages

It’s not every day that New York’s highest court considers a question impacting the business divorce cases that we typically litigate. But a recent decision from the Court of Appeals requires careful consideration by any owner of a foreign-incorporated entity considering New York litigation.  
Continue Reading Court of Appeals Bolsters the Internal Affairs Doctrine, Takes a Stroll Through Scottish Fiduciary Law

This week’s New York Business Divorce showcases how courts reign in aggrieved limited partners whose demands stray from the plain terms of the limited partnership agreement
Continue Reading You Get What You Get, and You Don’t Get Upset: First Department Boots Limited Partner’s Claims Based on Plain Terms of Limited Partnership Agreement

On the menu for this week’s New York Business Divorce: five noteworthy business divorce cases from five different states.
Continue Reading Crossing the Hudson: Recent Business Divorce Decisions from Yonder States

This week’s New York Business Divorce takes a look at the common-law history leading to the enactment of BCL 713 regulating self-interested transactions by corporate directors, along with illustrative synopses of cases applying the statute.
Continue Reading Enforcing the Guardrails on Transactions Involving Interested Directors of Close Corporations

What happens when you cross an at-will employment agreement with a mandatory redemption requirement at a deeply discounted price? Find out in this week’s post.
Continue Reading At-Will Employment Agreement Plus Mandatory Redemption Clause Leaves Minority Shareholder-Employees Out in the Cold